From Greenwich Meridian to International Date Line. Part 2. Hawaii.

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4. We’re on our way.

Our travel arrangements from hotel to ship all went to plan. Our chauffeur introduced himself as Nikolai and due to the fact that he must have been trained by the KGB in fast, evasive driving, got us to the terminal somewhat quicker than advertised.

Being on the Elite loyalty level, we were whisked through check-in and security and were on board having lunch before 1pm.

Sailaway was delayed by some three hours as not all the stores had arrived and loaded. Like there isn't already enough food to last a few days, but maybe it was the Captain's favourite chianti order. Talking of the captain (he's Italian, hence the chianti joke), we have seen him around the ship a couple of times already and going by his talks and broadcasts, he's quite a character.

The sea is reasonably calm, there is a lot of high, white cloud and the temperature is 15C and we are now on a four day stretch of sea days.

5. A quick update on progress.

Since departing from London and the Meridian we have travelled approximately 6,500 miles (5,000 from London to Los Angeles and 1,500 since leaving port) and have reached a longitude of 140W. This places us just over halfway between Los Angeles and the Hawaiian Islands.

Life onboard is settling into more of a routine during these sea days. We've met many nice people (including a female Lutheran Minister who loves playing poker and drinking cocktails in equal measure) and named one or two of our fellow travellers (Swiss Tony from the Fast Show for one). We've also teamed up with Mike and Zennie from Victoria, Canada as our trivia companions... (so far we have played four times and been runners up four times).

There are 1,600 Americans on board, 400 Brits, 300 Canadians and a smattering of other assorted nationalities. The number of children can be counted on one hand.

Yesterday being April 1, a number of guests were taken in by an offer of a preferential exchange rate offered by the purser’s desk for US dollars to Hawaiian dollars.

The skies have been a mixture of cloud and cloudless and the temperature has been slowly rising...its 22C today, as I write.

One more sea day and then everyone will be looking forward to exploring Hilo, the largest town on Hawaii's Big Island.

6. Aloha Hilo

Nearing Hawaii the temperature rose pleasantly and this resulted in two things, firstly an increase in the variety and loudness of Hawaiian shirts on display and secondly, less space around the pool as well-fed guests dozing in the sunshine resemble a herd of contented elephant seals.

We rose early to watch the sail in to Hilo, the largest town on the Big Island. The Captain announced that "we've finally made it, we had to stop and ask a couple of fishing boats for directions along the way, but here we are, welcome to Hilo."

Due to its position, Hilo is the wettest place in all the United States but today the sky was virtually cloudless as we climbed aboard our minivan for an excursion into the Volcanoes National Park. Our destination was Kilauea, the most active volcano on the planet. Unfortunately (depending on your point of view), the volcano had stopped after continuously erupting for 35 years, just a few months ago. However, the area around the crater rim was quite spectacular with steam venting in places, lava flows clearly visible and deep cracks in the (now unusable), roadway.

As there were still no rain clouds in sight, somewhat unusually, we were also able to see two other volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea from our Kilauea vantage point. The former is totally barren, whilst the latter rises to over 14,000 feet and is the highest mountain in the world when measured from base to summit. It is a Mecca for astronomers as its height and clear air provide the perfect position for several observatories.

We had a short stop on the way back to the ship at the rather pretty Rainbow Falls (although no rainbows were in sight today).

As to shipboard matters, we finally managed to win a trivia session and lost a second one on the tie break question.

7. Hawaii Five-0.

Overnight the ship made the short hop from Hilo to Honolulu, the largest city of Oahu and capital of the State of Hawaii. It's a big, bustling, high rise city and a complete contrast to our previous port of call and with Pearl Harbour just along the coast, it’s a bit of a pilgrimage for many Americans. With no excursions booked, but with a definite plan in mind we watched the sunrise as the ship sailed in and after breakfast caught a shuttle to the downtown area.

Once there we bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus and journeyed out to Diamond Head, an extinct volcano which dominates the eastern end of the city suburbs. It would have taken a couple of hours to hike to the lookout point at the top of the crater rim, so we decided not to do the walk and make better use of our time. We stayed aboard the bus, just sightseeing, for ether remainder of the loop before getting off where we had started and finding a spot of lunch.

Once refreshed we headed across the wide boulevard which runs along the length of Waikiki beach and took a few steps onto the famous sand, just watching locals and tourists alike enjoying the water. A groin which has been built offshore, protects the beach from most of the waves so further out the surfers were riding small but clean, waves whilst closer in the swimmers could swim in safety in a calm, natural swimming pool. We didn't venture in; it was just too busy and besides we had other things we needed to do.

One of those other things was to buy an Aloha (otherwise known as an Hawaiian) shirt as everyone in Hawaii (and I mean everyone, it's a way of life), wears them. Needless to say that every other store sold them so one is spoiled for choice, and in the end I plumped for something in midnight blue with tropical overtones of palm trees, outriggers and volcanic islands. Very fetching it is too.

We strolled along Waikiki beach boulevard which is lined with high rise hotels and every high-end designer label store that you can think of. This was, of course, thirsty work and a tasting paddle from the Maui Brewery Company bar provided welcome relief.

In order to get back to the ship we took a second hop on hop off bus route which took us to the more historical parts of Honolulu and also included panoramic city views from the Punchbowl Memorial Park, the largest cemetery in the Pacific as well as brief stops at several filming locations from the ever-popular cop show, Hawaii Five-0.

We got back on board just in time for a quick change and freshen up before going to watch a local dance school give a hula dancing display in the Princess Theatre. Although they were mainly older teenage girls, the show was stolen by the little 5- and 6-year-olds who danced their hulas perfectly. I have no idea how many times the girls perform their routines for the cruise ships but there is no other word for it, they were simply enchanting and received a deserved standing ovation.

So, in the immortal words of Hawaii Five-0's Jack Lord, if anyone is considering hiring the troupe, don't hesitate, just book 'em Danno!

8. Helicopters in Kauai and whales in Maui.

After four port days I have time to do some catching up! We have now left the Hawaiian Islands and are heading southwest towards Samoa. Our position is 17N, 158W, so edging ever nearer both the equator and the international date line, and we have travelled some 2,900 nautical miles since leaving Los Angeles.

After the bustle of Honolulu we stopped at Kauai, sometimes referred to as the garden island. It's easy to see why. Before leaving home, my research had strongly suggested that the best way to see Kauai is by helicopter, so that is what we did. We treated ourselves to an hour's flight and every minute was a joy.

But it almost didn't happen. As we were about to board the helicopter it suddenly became unserviceable and so we had to switch both machine and pilot. The six-seater Eco Star with Beth at the controls took off and started by flying over the harbour and Star Princess. We continued over the centre of the island and Waimera canyon, second only in length and depth to the Grand Canyon and watched as the geography changed from bare red rock laced with high waterfalls to thick green jungle. The interior is virtually impenetrable due to both the abundance of lush vegetation and the steep sided volcanic mountains. If I say that movies such as Jurassic Park were filmed here, you get the idea.

Onward we flew to the north shore where cliffs hundreds of feet high meet the ocean. Occasionally there were flatter, more accessible areas where small settlements or vacation resorts had grown up. Beth told us that the waves rolling up onto the beach were about 12 feet, normal for the time of year although from our vantage point they looked no more than little rivulets.

Heading south we then flew into the crater of an extinct volcano before returning to the airport. It had been the most exhilarating flight and a photographer’s dream.

Following all that excitement it was time for something a little more down to earth for the afternoon. As it happens there is a lovely beach and safe swimming just a short walk from the port so we put on swimming gear and ventured in. The water temperature was about 23C, so not too difficult to get acclimatised...and of course easy to dry off afterwards in the warm sunshine.

On the way back to the ship we stopped for shave ice, an Hawaiian speciality. A layer of ice-cream is covered in ice and various syrup flavourings, rather like a slush puppy. Very refreshing it is too!

Overnight we sailed from Kauai to Maui, which tends to be rather more of a tourist island. However, it's also a stopping point for thousands of humpback whales which migrate here every year to give birth. April is rather towards the end of their migration season but we had heard that there were still a few stragglers around, so we jumped aboard a whale watching boat.

We weren't disappointed. We got to see dozens of the whales, the vast majority some distance off but one or two much closer up, flapping pectoral fins or tail flukes slipping majestically below the waves. As it was breeding season many of the females had their calves with them, gently nudging them to the surface, teaching them how to breathe and dive.

Once back on dry land we spent some time looking around the port town of Lahaina. Although it must welcome millions of visitors a year, the gift stores were more artisan than touristy, and for obvious reasons every major surfwear company had a presence along the main street.

The only downside to Lahaina was that it was a tender port and as a result it took us well over an hour to get back aboard the ship. But having said that, what comes around goes around because as we were sailing away from the Island, we spotted some dolphins. Not spotted from the upper deck, but from our stateroom which is near the front of the ship and low down....thus we watched them riding the bow wave from the comfort of our cabin, leaving and diving just a few feet away. Magical.

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Photos

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Lava flow on Kilauea

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Waikiki beach

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Honolulu

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Honolulu

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Kauai coastline

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Lahaina, Maui